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Susan 'Foreman': Pre-An Unearthly Child to The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, The Five Doctors
Sir Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright: An Unearthly Child to The Chase
Vicki: The Rescue to The Myth Makers
Steven Taylor: The Chase to The Savages
Dorothea 'Dodo' Chaplet: The Massacre to The War Machines
Polly and Ben Jackson: The War Machines to The Faceless Ones

I believe that in some circles, there was one other character that was sort of considered as a companion: Sara Kingdom. Although she only appeared in the Dalek Masterplan, I think that due to the enormous length of that serial she was considered an official companion - and, along with Katarina, Adric, and Kamelion - one of only 4 to die (Katarina dying in the same story in fact). Now why her and not Bret or any of the other characters from that serial I am not sure, as it is unavailable for viewing.

I think that a character would have to survive until at least the next serial to be considered a companion otherwise there would be hundreds of characters that adventured with the Doctor within stories.

As for the traveling in the TARDIS rule I also think the above should apply since I seem to remember a story where a bunch of people jumped into the TRADIS to escape a blowing up ship/planet and I don't think they'd all be companions!

That Is Not Dead Which Can Eternal Lie,
And With Strange Aeons Even Death May Die.

There's certainly nothing wrong with this approach. It's simple enough. But I gotta wonder what standard they used to judge whether a person was a companion or not. Had they left Grace off the list, I would have said they had a minimum qualification of "must be in two stories". But her inclusion, whilst denying Sara, makes little sense on the face of it. I mean, I guess ya gotta give the Eigth Doctor someone, but, really, Grace outright refused to be his companion.

Maybe the threshold was the nature of the contract given to the performer. I gather there was some option in Ashbrook's contract for her to return, if the telemovie had gone to series. Marsh was never contracted for anything but a few weeks' work.

[Quote by: WarrenPeace]
As for the traveling in the TARDIS rule . . .

I dunno where this hoary old chestnut came from. That was never a "rule", otherwise Liz Shaw and Mike Yates couldn't qualify. Hell, Jo wouldn't have qualified when she was first hired. You could maybe argue that a companion must at least know that the TARDIS is a time-travelling device that's bigger on the inside than out, though. But then you're stuck with what to do about Chang Lee, and, to an extent, Adam.

Again, I think it comes down to whatever the BBC, or the production team, believes. I don't think Adam counts as a companion, personally, despite having travelled in the TARDIS, and probably understanding more deeply than Rose what the TARDIS was. He was a guest star, delivering a very specific plot point—not a recurring character.

Now, if you were asking me whom I believed were companions, I'd have to lump Jackie in there, too. She was meant to be a continuing part of the larger narrative, she understood what the TARDIS was as well as any "stupid ape", and, though I don't think it's a necessary pre-qualifier, she did take a trip, ultimately.

"I think of myself as ambitious in casting terms, and I know that Bonnie [Langford] has the potential to make the part totally unirritating . . ." — JNT, 1986

Just to add a little more confusion to the mix, back in 1983 the BBC published a Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special that was distributed in the States by Starlog Press. It was a sort-of oversized magazine with the first five Doctors and introducing Colin Baker as number six. In it was an article A-Z of the Doctor's Companions, compiled by Gay Search. In it, Sara Kingdom is listed as a companion. Additionally, the book Doctor Who A Celebration: Two Decades Through Time and Space by Peter Haining also has Sara Kingdom listed as one of the companions.

I'm going "Full Circle" and putting my avatar back to what it was when I first joined. :)